When at a recent check-up the gynecologist told me "it was easier when women never had sex before marriage" the only thing that prevented me from disagreeing was the fact I my legs were in stirrups with a magnifying glass on my cervix! (TMI!) The doctor had started off all jokey and friendly but then went on to talk about how awful it was that young women slept around these days and asked me if I had a boyfriend. He then asked if I was going to marry him and looked put out when I replied 'I don't know'.
It's bad enough that women have to endure speculation about their private life or 'reputation' if they need a termination but why should I be made to feel like a big 'ol slag just because my cervical cells are being a bit lively? And why should it matter if I am a big 'ol slag in the first place?
This kind of treatment isn't confined to middle-aged men either, in my youth a trip to the doctor to get the morning-after pill resulted in the third degree. With disapproving eyes she asked if I had a boyfriend, and demanded to know why he wasn't here. Never mind that it had been a legitimate accident or that I was trying to take responsibility for my fertility; all that mattered to her was making me feel like a piece of crap.
I know it's hard for doctors who see worried women coming in with diseases, unplanned pregnancies and lively cervical cells but shouldn't they get a bit of sympathy instead of a "now you stay away from 'orrible boys" routine or a disapproving intrusion into your sex life? I don't understand how something that is a health issue can become a moral one which shoulders all the blame on women. Women are made to feel ashamed about rape, wanting abortions and trying to balance work/home lives but I think it's time to stop pressing our guilt buttons!
Have any Dollymixers had guilt-inducing GP visits?